Saturday 23 February 2008

Moonshine Sonata

According to the New Scientist (23 Jan, p. 33), Robert Schneider and "The Apples in Stereo" are doing something very pleasing musically and fascinating mathematically with logarithmic scales - "to play [them] on a piano would require an instrument with an infinitely long keyboard, not to mention a pianist with infinitely long arms."

Scientists have discovered that the octaves go straight up our neural pathways, we are hard-wired to do the octaves. But we just have to learn to get used to the notes in the intervals, evenly spaced or not, which anyway vary between times and cultures.

Imagine a leprechaun who knows for sure where the rainbow starts and ends, but cannot easily make his (or her) way between these points because she (or he) cannot comprehend a bus route map - or, who would, should he (or she) try to hire a taxi, end up being brutally raped, beaten and slung into a ditch by a minicab driver who used to be a Colonel in the Nigerian army.

Imagine being in a Cornish pub at closing time, when the yokels stop yarring and break into "Goodnight Irene".

That is why "The Apples in Stereo" sound like a really bad Beatles tribute band.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

For some reason I could think only 'Steve Jobs' throughout this entire post.

Chertiozhnik said...

Does he? Mike Fuchs, Luke Beggs, Adrian Moos, Lance Adjustshisseatbelt.

All very confusing, and I can see why you thought of it.

Chertiozhnik said...

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